An Overview of an Episcopal Church Service

We provide numerous services, formal and informal, for our members and for those in the community.  In most cases, communion is an integral part of our worship services.  The next few paragraphs describe these services.

Because our church's roots are from the Anglican Church in England, our church services combine traditional structure and ceremony with informal aspects of modern worship.   When the service occurs within the church setting, we use a prayer book to guide us through different types of service structures called "Rites." 

Formal Sunday Services

To aid you in understanding our services, the first three types of services are listed in reverse order of complexity.  Understanding the structure and content of Holy Eucharist, Rite II makes it easy to understand the differences in Rite I and Morning Prayer.

Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) is the sacrament commanded by Jesus for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection.  "Eucharist" is a Greek word meaning thanksgiving.  At Eucharist, we offer praise and thanksgiving to God for the loving sacrifice that Jesus made for us.  The outward visible sign of this celebration are bread and wine.  The inner grace is the Body and Blood of Christ given to nourish us in our faith and daily living.  The Eucharist brings us forgiveness, union with Christ, and union with one another.

All Christians, children and adults, are welcomed to the Lord's table.  You do not have to be a member of our church or any other Episcopal church.  We believe that, just as Christ fed all who were hungry, so we are to feed all who come 'his table' with his grace and love.  Holy Eucharist is the principle act of worship each Sunday, fulfilling Christ's command that we should "Do this in remembrance of me."

   Holy Eucharist, Rite II:  Rite II is a formal service with worship periods of standing, kneeling, and sitting.  Using one of our 10:30 services as an example, we begin with an opening hymn and procession.  After the hymn, we are led by our minister through a series of opening sentences.  Another major part of our Eucharist Service is the reading of two lessons and the Gospel from the Holy Bible.  After the Gospel is read, a sermon is provided, we recite the Nicene Creed, and participate in the Prayers of the People.  Next in the service is the Passing of the Peace.  This is the least formal part of the service.   During The Peace, we all turn to our neighbors and offer the Peace of God to everyone in attendance.  Following the Peace is the Offertory and then we participate in Holy Communion.  Throughout the service are periods of joyous hymns or anthems and moments of reverent and thoughtful prayer.  Following the communal sharing of bread and wine, we share a moment in prayer or song and conclude our Eucharistic service.

   Holy Eucharist, Rite I:   Normally conducted during our early morning service on Sunday.  It contains all of the principal elements of our Rite II service, but does not normally include musical interludes or hymns.

There are Sundays and other times when our worship service does not include coming together to celebrate communion.  It is during these times when we celebrate our life with Christ through the office of Morning Payer.  The most common reason for a Morning Prayer service is the absence of our priest.  Although we would prefer to have a priest with us at every service, we realize there are times when the priest must be called away or can not be with us for a variety of reasons.  The Morning Prayer service is a beautiful means to express our love for God and to share in fellowship.

Sunday Services for Special Occasions

Although each of the services described below can be performed as separate ceremonies, these types of services are normally performed in conjunction with Holy Eucharist, Rite I or II.

Holy Baptism:  The Episcopal Church recognizes all baptisms performed in the name of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), regardless of the church where the baptism was performed.  Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as His children, regardless of the age we are baptized.  Adults, youth, and infants are baptized.  We repent our sins and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  It is during this ceremony that we celebrate the making of each of us as members of Christ's Body in the church.  The visible sign of Baptism is water, in which a person is baptized in the "Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  During the baptism ceremony, the candidate, witnesses, and the congregation are asked to express their vow to love and serve in the path Christ has shown us.  For infants, promises are made by their parents, sponsors, and the whole church community guaranteeing the child will be brought up in the church, to know an follow Christ and share in the fullness of the Christian family here on earth.

      Confirmation:  Confirmation is the Rite in which we profess a mature commitment to Christ and receive strength from the Holy spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by the bishop.

     Reaffirmation:  Like confirmation, reaffirmation is a Rite in which we profess a mature commitment to Christ and receive strength from the Holy spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by the bishop.  The major difference is that reaffirmation occurs after one has been confirmed and is a way of 'refreshing' the pledge made during confirmation.

More About Our Worship Services

We believe sharing our worship with the youth members of our church is essential to their religious upbringing and to the future of our church.  We welcome children of all ages to attend our services.  In addition to attendance at these weekly periods of worship, our youth members participate in many other ways.  Some of the areas where our youth members participate with us include serving as crucifers (bearers of the cross), acolytes (altar assistants), banner bearers, and members of our youth and bell choirs.

     8:00-9:00 a.m.  - Holy Eucharist, Rite I (Occasional Morning Prayer service instead of Rite I)

     9:30-10:15 a.m.  - Christian Education:  Classes for all ages.  Our Nursery is open for care of infants.

     10:30 a.m.-Noon - Holy Eucharist, Rite II (Occasional Morning Prayer service instead of Rite II)

     10:30 a.m. - Nursery for toddlers and infants.

Christmas Youth Pageant:  We believe sharing our worship with the youth members of our church is essential to their religious upbringing and to the future of our church.   We welcome children of all ages to attend our services.  But, once a year, at Christmas time, we are blessed with a special service in which we celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus through a reenactment put on by our children.  We are treated to the sight of the shepherds and kings visiting the Christ child at the manger.  Each year, the roles of Baby Jesus and his parents are usually reenacted by the family with the youngest baby in the church.

Christmas Eve Service:   Christmas Eve is a very special service for us.  Undoubtedly, this is the most attended service of the year.  During our Christmas Eve service, our beautiful church is adorned with wreaths and poinsettias, rich music of the season emanates from our magnificent church organ, glad tidings of joy and rejoicing are spread by our vocal choirs, bell choir, and our congregation.  If you have never been to a Christmas Eve service at Abingdon, we encourage you to attend.

Services for Those Unable to Attend Abingdon